CLINICIANS AND HEALTH LEADERS GATHER IN DALLAS TO ACCELERATE CHANGES IN PRIMARY CARE AND TO IMPROVE HEALTH IN THE COMMUNITY

Finalists announced for newly funded initiative to support and learn from communities actively working to improve the health of their populations

Cambridge, MA and Dallas, TX (Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center) – March 16, 2015 – The growing necessity to link health care delivery with the support and tools needed to lead healthier lives is very much in evidence at the 16th Annual International Summit on Improving Patient Care in the Office Practice and the Community taking place in Dallas, TX this week. Convened by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), a leading innovator in health and health care improvement worldwide, and running March 15-17, more than 1,000 clinical providers and leaders are sharing the latest developments from communities around the world. Key themes are the transformation of primary care, engaging patients in their care, supporting communities and populations in their efforts to achieve and maintain better health, and new opportunities for leveraging health IT.

This morning, IHI Senior Vice President Trissa Torres, MD, opened the Summit with a keynote address in which she encouraged the audience to “build relationships with patients that when combined with clinical skill have broader impact on the people and communities we serve.” Dr. Torres reminded the gathering that to work in primary care today requires new approaches and new mindsets that, among other things, take into account patients’ own individual qualities, backgrounds, and goals that should be leveraged as an asset toward their improved health, rather than seen as an obstacle. This approach isn’t yet the norm, nor the way many doctors and nurses have trained, and Dr. Torres acknowledged that transitioning to this mindset requires some adjustment. She challenged attendees to think about the preconceptions, practices, and mentalities that they would need to let go of to achieve the mutual trust and respect needed to together work toward Improved patient and population health.

Mary Brainerd, President and Chief Executive Officer of HealthPartners, Inc., the largest, consumer- governed, nonprofit health care organization in the U.S., will also speak at the Summit. Brainerd will discuss the role of health systems in building healthier communities, as well as some of the emerging models for health systems to partner with others in their communities. Sir Harry Burns, professor of global public health at the University of Strathclyde and former Chief Medical Officer for Scotland, will address the Summit on Tuesday, focusing on international developments around health and wellness, and sharing lessons learned from his work to address health inequalities.

SCALE Finalists Announced

At the Summit, IHI also announced the 57 finalists for funding grants to support promising community- based work on health improvement, as part of a brand new initiative known as SCALE (Spreading Community Accelerators through Learning and Evaluation). Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and led by IHI, Community Solutions, Communities Joined in Action, and the Collaborative Health Network, SCALE aims to work with communities to develop capability to improve health and to spread effective community-driven approaches across the U.S.

SCALE will involve up to 30 communities from across the U.S., and will match up to 10 “mentor communities” – those with a recent track record of achieving better health – with 20 “pacesetter communities” that are seeking to accelerate their pace of change. With multiple sources of support, communities will seek to spread effective, best practices as quickly as possible, in order to realize improvements in health. Together, all the communities intend to stand as beacons and resources for any community, anywhere, striving to obtain the best health possible, especially those most vulnerable to poor health due to poverty, violence, or lack of social supports.

This initiative marks the first community-based program of the recently announced global initiative, 100 Million Healthier Lives, led by IHI and 115 founding project partners. Through unprecedented collaboration, this initiative aims to achieve an audacious goal: 100 million people living healthier lives by 2020. To date, more than 400 patients, community members, leaders, organizations, and implementers across the domains of public health, community health, health care, policy, academia, business, and financing have joined the 100 Million Healthier Lives initiative, with additional members welcome to join here.

“We are thrilled with the strong interest from communities around the country interested in joining the SCALE initiative to accelerate their health improvement journey – and to ultimately help build a healthier world,” stated Soma Stout, Executive External Lead, Health Improvement, IHI. “Selected from more than 200 applicants, these finalists represent some of the most innovative and creative approaches to improving the health and well-being of people, populations, and their communities-at-large.”

Today’s 57 grant finalists, selected from close to 200 applicants across the country, will be narrowed to approximately 30 communities by mid-April.

Bernalillo County, NM
Bernalillo County Community Health Council
Presbyterian Healthcare Services
NM Department of Health/Health Promotion
Albuquerque Public Schools/Student, Family & Community Supports Division
UNM/HSC/Office of Community Health Initiatives/Pathways to a Healthy Bernalillo County
First Choice Community Healthcare

Chicago, IL
Chicago Department of Public Health
Center for Faith and Community Health Transformation
Heartland Human Care Services
Health & Medicine Policy Research Group
Alliance for Research in Chicagoland Communities
Respiratory Health Association

Chicago, IL
Proviso-Leyden Council for Community Action
Loyola Chicago Stritch School of Medicine
Proviso East High School
Triton College
Loyola University Hospital
Cook County Department of Public Health

Chicago, IL
Quad Communities Development Organization
University of Chicago Medical
Adler University
Near North Health Center
University of Chicago Office of Civic Engagement
Bright Star Community Church
LISC Chicago

Chicago, IL
West Humboldt Park Family and Community Development Council
University of Illinois at Chicago: Midwest Latino Health Research Training and Policy Center
Northwestern Medicine
Neighborhood Housing Services
Salvation Army
Chicago Commons

Cincinnati, OH
The Health Collaborative
United Way of Greater Cincinnati
Interact for Health
Health Care Access Now

San Francisco, CA
Saint Francis Foundation
Saint Francis Memorial Hospital
San Francisco Department of Public Health
San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development
University of California San Francisco
Boys and Girls Clubs of San Francisco

San Gabriel Valley, CA
City of Hope
Neighbors Acting Together Helping All (NATHA) City of Duarte
Duarte Unified School District (DUSD)

Schenectady, NY
Ellis Medicine
Schenectady Community Action Program
Schenectady County Public Health Services
Central State Street Neighborhood Association
Chamber of Schenectady County
The Schenectady Foundation

Summit County, OH
Summit County Public Health
City of Akron
The University of Akron
Kent State University
Northeast Ohio Medical University
Summa Health System
Akron Children’s Hospital
Akron General Health System
AxessPointe Community Health Center
SummaCare

Tioga County, PA
Tioga County Partnership for Community Health
Susquehanna Health System
Tioga County Department of Human Services
Mansfield University

About The Institute for Healthcare Improvement
IHI is a leading innovator in health and health care improvement worldwide. For more than 25 years, we have partnered with visionaries, leaders, and front-line practitioners around the globe to spark bold, inventive ways to improve the health of individuals and populations. Recognized as an innovator, convener, trustworthy partner, and driver of results, we are the first place to turn for expertise, help, and encouragement for anyone, anywhere who wants to change health and health care profoundly for the better. To advance our mission, IHI’s work is focused in five key areas: Improvement Capability; Person- and Family-Centered Care; Patient Safety; Quality, Cost, and Value; and Triple Aim for Populations. Learn more at ihi.org.